The Officers of the House of Commons
| Date | 01 September 1924 |
| Author | H. B. Lees‐Smith |
| Published date | 01 September 1924 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.1924.tb02183.x |
The
8
Journal
of
Public
Administration
The
Officers
of
the
House
of
Commons
BY
H.
B.
LEES-SMITH, MA.
NE
of the least-known branches of the public service
is
that attached
0
to the House of Commons. The members are recruited by
a
special
system, have their salaries fixed by
a
method peculiar to the House, and
live in
a
world entirely cut
off
from the Civil Service
as
a
whole. Few
Members of Parliament fully realize the functions of the quiet and
efficient men who are continually passing and re-passing amongst them.
Yet on the work of these men depends the smooth and regular prqcedure
of the House.
At the head of the oficials
of
the House of Commons stand
a
number
of great officers, whose duties must be described
first
in detail.
THE
SPEAKER.
The Speaker is the axle on which the Parliamentary
machine revolves. He is the guardian of order in the House, the inter-
preter of its
rules,
the defender
of
its privileges, and
its
official mouthpiece
for communicating with
all
persons and authorities outside the House
itself. Although many of his powers and duties are
laid
down by law,
most of them are dependent upon the general authority that he has
derived from the House itself.
He is elected by the House
of
Commons
at
the beginning of each
Parliament.
If
he retires
or
dies
before the Parliament comes to
an
end,
a
successor has to be elected for the remainder
of
the period. His election
must receive the formal assent of the Crown, which has not been refused
since the case of Sir Edward Seymour in
1678.
He receives
a
salary of
L5,OOO
a
year. On his retirement the Crown
has
of late years granted
him
a
peerage and the House of Commons-although not without
disagreement Lhas voted
him
a
pension
of
L4,OOO
a year.
One of the
first
principles
of
Parliamentary procedure is that the
authority that the Speaker possesses is derived in reality from the House
itself.
This
is
well exemplified by the rule that
a
Member cannot be
A detailed category
of
the
Speaker's duties is contained in the
Report
of
:he
Select
Cornntiltee
on
I&
Ofice
of
the
Speakn.
1853,
pp.
12
and
13.
Another carefully prepared
statement
of
his
duties,
made
by
Sir
Reginald Palgrave when he
was
Clerk
of
the
House,
is
contained in Erskine May's
Purliamitary
Practice
(12th Edition),
pp.
177-180.
*
31st
Jan.,
1911.
p.
7.
250
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